Conroe man indicted on two charges in MVA death of friend

Published 5:25 pm, Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A Conroe man originally indicted in 2009 for the intoxication manslaughter death of a friend in a wreck has been reindicted on that charge and also indicted for manslaughter.

A Montgomery County grand jury reindicted Scott Michael Hickey, 20, Tuesday for the intoxication manslaughter charge while adding a new indictment for manslaughter. The charges stem from the April 2009 death of Hickey’s friend, Cameron Justin Rea, 18, in a one-vehicle accident that occurred when the vehicle Hickey was driving hit a telephone pole on Texas 242 near Gleneagles Drive.

Hickey and Rea were transported to Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital, where Rea died a short time later from his injuries.

Hickey has a trial setting date of Feb. 14 in the 221st state District Court, but that could change if a continuance was granted Wednesday during a pretrial motion hearing, said Stephen Jackson, Hickey’s attorney.

“It’s a complicated case,” he said.

The state likely sought the manslaughter injunction to be cautious if prosecutors couldn’t prove Hickey was intoxicated, he said.

“Up until today, our concern was he met the standards for intoxication,” Jackson said. “Our theory was to prepare for the lack of intoxication. We may need more time to concentrate on the other theory.”

Hickey is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a total of $13,500 in bonds.